Aerial and ground surveys for eiders were
conducted in the northeast National Petroleum
Reserve–Alaska (NE NPRA) in 2009 to gather
information on eiders in support of permit
applications of the Alpine Satellite Development
Project (ASDP) for ConocoPhillips Alaska, Inc.
The eider surveys continued long-term data
acquisition begun in 1992 on the Colville Delta and
in 1999 in the NE NPRA. Surveys focused on the
abundance, distribution, and habitat use of 2
species of eiders that are listed as threatened under
the Endangered Species Act of 1973: Spectacled
Eider (Somateria fischeri) and Steller’s Eider
(Polysticta stelleri). Two other eider species, the
King Eider (Somateria spectabilis) and Common
Eider (Somateria mollissima), were recorded
incidentally.
In 2009, ASDP comprised 4 drill sites (CD-1
and CD-2 at Alpine and the CD-3 and CD-4
satellites). This study focused on eiders near
proposed drill sites and road routes in NE NPRA
and the western extreme of the Colville Delta. The
3 proposed drill sites—CD-5, GMT-1 (formerly
CD-6), and Fiord West—were located in NE
NPRA. Pre-nesting surveys were conducted in
fixed-wing aircraft during 8–13 June 2009. Nesting
surveys were conducted on foot by 3–10
researchers in search areas around proposed pads
and road routes during 29 June–5 July. Search
areas were bounded by a 400-m wide buffer around
the CD-5, GMT-1, and the 3 alternative pad
locations within Fiord West (FW West, FW East,
and FW South); and a 200-m wide buffer along the
proposed road routes, but nest searches were
conducted only in habitats identified during
previous studies as used by nesting eiders.
Spring conditions were relatively warm in
May and early June 2009. Snow disappeared from
the tundra by the second week of June, break up on
the Colville River occurred on 26 May, and
White-fronted Goose broods were first recorded on
26 June, all early dates for these seasonal events.
By the third week of June, however, colder
temperatures and wind dominated the weather
conditions.
During the pre-nesting survey in 2009, 1
Spectacled and 2 King eider groups were sighted
within the proposed road and pad area buffers. Two
Spectacled Eider groups were seen adjacent to the
road buffers. In 9 years of pre-nesting eider surveys
in NE NPRA and 16 years of surveys on the
Colville Delta, 7 Spectacled Eider groups have
been recorded in the buffers around the proposed
roads and pads. The largest number of Spectacled
Eiders recorded in the road and pad buffers was 4
adults in 2006.
During the nesting season in 2009, we found 1
Spectacled Eider and 12 King Eider nests in the
road and pad buffers. A small portion of the buffers
were included in nest searches during previous
years. Although 6 Spectacled Eider nests have
been found on nest searches in NE NPRA in
previous years, only 1 nest from 2003 occurred
within the road and pad buffers around the current
alternative locations. The density of Spectacled
Eider nests (0.12 nests/km²) in 2009 was relatively
low compared with the density of King Eider (1.39
nests/km²).
